As used herein, the term “molten metal” means any metal or combination of metals in liquid form, such as aluminum, copper, iron, zinc and alloys thereof. The term “gas” means any gas or combination of gases, including argon, nitrogen, chlorine, fluorine, Freon, and helium, which may be released into molten metal.
A reverbatory furnace is used to melt metal and retain the molten metal while the metal is in a molten state. The molten metal in the furnace is sometimes called the molten metal bath. Reverbatory furnaces usually include a chamber for retaining a molten metal pump and that chamber is sometimes referred to as the pump well.
Known pumps for pumping molten metal (also called “molten-metal pumps”) include a pump base (also called a “base,” “housing” or “casing”) and a pump chamber (or “chamber” or “molten metal pump chamber”), which is an open area formed within the pump base. Such pumps also include one or more inlets in the pump base, an inlet being an opening to allow molten metal to enter the pump chamber.
A discharge is formed in the pump base and is a channel or conduit that communicates with the molten metal pump chamber, and leads from the pump chamber to the molten metal bath. A tangential discharge is a discharge formed at a tangent to the pump chamber. The discharge may also be axial, in which case the pump is called an axial pump. In an axial pump the pump chamber and discharge may be the essentially the same structure (or different areas of the same structure) since the molten metal entering the chamber is expelled directly through (usually directly above or below) the chamber.
A rotor, also called an impeller, is mounted in the pump chamber and is connected to a drive shaft. The drive shaft is typically a motor shaft coupled to a rotor shaft, wherein the motor shaft has two ends, one end being connected to a motor and the other end being coupled to the rotor shaft. The rotor shaft also has two ends, wherein one end is coupled to the motor shaft and the other end is connected to the rotor. Often, the rotor shaft is comprised of graphite, the motor shaft is comprised of steel, and the two are coupled by a coupling, which is usually comprised of steel.
As the motor turns the drive shaft, the drive shaft turns the rotor and the rotor pushes molten metal out of the pump chamber, through the discharge, which may be an axial or tangential discharge, and into the molten metal bath. Most molten metal pumps are gravity fed, wherein gravity forces molten metal through the inlet and into the pump chamber as the rotor pushes molten metal out of the pump chamber.
Molten metal pump casings and rotors usually, but not necessarily, employ a bearing system comprising ceramic rings wherein there are one or more rings on the rotor that align with rings in the pump chamber such as rings at the inlet (which is usually the opening in the housing at the top of the pump chamber and/or bottom of the pump chamber) when the rotor is placed in the pump chamber. The purpose of the bearing system is to reduce damage to the soft, graphite components, particularly the rotor and pump chamber wall, during pump operation. A known bearing system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,681 to Cooper, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,951,243 and 6,093,000, each to Cooper, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose, respectively, bearings that may be used with molten metal pumps and rigid coupling designs and a monolithic rotor. U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,524 to Sweeney et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,584 to Mangalick, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,523 to Cooper (the disclosure of the afore-mentioned patent to Cooper is incorporated herein by reference) also disclose molten metal pump designs.
The materials forming the molten metal pump components that contact the molten metal bath should remain relatively stable in the bath. Structural refractory materials, such as graphite or ceramics, that are resistant to disintegration by corrosive attack from the molten metal may be used. As used herein “ceramics” or “ceramic” refers to any oxidized metal (including silicon) or carbon-based material, excluding graphite, capable of being used in the environment of a molten metal bath. “Graphite” means any type of graphite, whether or not chemically treated. Graphite is particularly suitable for being formed into pump components because it is (a) soft and relatively easy to machine, (b) not as brittle as ceramics and less prone to breakage, and (c) less expensive than ceramics.
Three basic types of pumps for pumping molten metal, such as molten aluminum, are utilized: circulation pumps, transfer pumps and gas-release pumps. Circulation pumps are used to circulate the molten metal within a bath, thereby generally equalizing the temperature of the molten metal. Most often, circulation pumps are used in a reverbatory furnace having an external well. The well is usually an extension of a charging well where scrap metal is charged (i.e., added).
Transfer pumps are generally used to transfer molten metal from the external well of a reverbatory furnace to a different location such as a launder, ladle or another furnace. Examples of transfer pumps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,964 B1 to Cooper, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,681.
Gas-release pumps, such as gas-injection pumps, circulate molten metal while releasing a gas into the molten metal. In the purification of molten metals, particularly aluminum, it is frequently desired to remove dissolved gases such as hydrogen, or dissolved metals, such as magnesium, from the molten metal. As is known by those skilled in the art, the removing of dissolved gas is known as “degassing” while the removal of magnesium is known as “demagging.” Gas-release pumps may be used for either of these purposes or for any other application for which it is desirable to introduce gas into molten metal. Gas-release pumps generally include a gas-transfer conduit having a first end that is connected to a gas source and a second submerged in the molten metal bath. Gas is introduced into the first end of the gas-transfer conduit and is released from the second end into the molten metal. The gas may be released downstream of the pump chamber into either the pump discharge or a metal-transfer conduit extending from the discharge, or into a stream of molten metal exiting either the discharge or the metal-transfer conduit. Alternatively, gas may be released into the pump chamber or upstream of the pump chamber at a position where it enters the pump chamber. A system for releasing gas into a pump chamber is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,523 to Cooper. Furthermore, gas may be released into a stream of molten metal passing through a discharge or metal-transfer conduit wherein the position of a gas-release opening in the metal-transfer conduit enables pressure from the molten metal stream to assist in drawing gas into the molten metal stream. Such a structure and method is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/773,101 entitled “System for Releasing Gas Into Molten Metal,” invented by Paul V. Cooper, and filed on Feb. 4, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Molten metal transfer pumps have been used, among other things, to transfer molten aluminum from a well to a ladle or launder, wherein the launder normally directs the molten aluminum into a ladle or into molds where it is cast into solid, usable pieces, such as ingots. The launder is essentially a trough, channel or conduit outside of the reverbatory furnace. A ladle is a large vessel into which molten metal is poured from the furnace. After molten metal is placed into the ladle, the ladle is transported from the furnace area to another part of the facility where the molten metal inside the ladle is poured into molds. A ladle is typically filled in two ways. First, the ladle may be filled by utilizing a transfer pump positioned in the furnace to pump molten metal out of the furnace, over the furnace wall, and into the ladle. Second, the ladle may be filled by transferring molten metal from a hole (called a tap-out hole) located at or near the bottom of the furnace and into the ladle. The tap-out hole is typically a tapered hole or opening, usually about 1″-1½″ in diameter, that receives a tapered plug called a “tap-out plug.” The plug is removed from the tap-out hole to allow molten metal to drain from the furnace and inserted into the tap-out hole to stop the flow of molten metal out of the furnace.
There are problems with each of these known methods. Referring to filling a ladle utilizing a transfer pump, there is splashing (or turbulence) of the molten metal exiting the transfer pump and entering the ladle. This turbulence causes the molten metal to interact more with the air than would a smooth flow of molten metal pouring into the ladle. The interaction with the air leads to the formation of dross within the ladle and splashing also creates a safety hazard because persons working near the ladle could be hit with molten metal. Further, there are problems inherent with the use of most transfer pumps. For example, the transfer pump can develop a blockage in the riser, which is an extension of the pump discharge that extends out of the molten metal bath in order to pump molten metal from one structure into another. The blockage blocks the flow of molten metal through the pump and essentially causes a failure of the system. When such a blockage occurs the transfer pump must be removed from the furnace and the riser tube must be removed from the transfer pump and replaced. This causes hours of expensive downtime. A transfer pump also has associated piping attached to the riser to direct molten metal from the vessel containing the transfer pump into another vessel or structure. The piping is typically made of steel with an internal liner. The piping can be between 1 and 10 feet in length or even longer. The molten metal in the piping can also solidify causing failure of the system and downtime associated with replacing the piping.
If a tap-out hole is used to drain molten metal from a furnace a depression is formed in the floor or other surface on which the furnace rests so the ladle can preferably be positioned in the depression so it is lower than the tap-out hole, or the furnace may be elevated above the floor so the tap-out hole is above the ladle. Either method can be used to enable molten metal to flow from the tap-out hole into the ladle.
Use of a tap-out hole at the bottom of a furnace can lead to problems. First, when the tap-out plug is removed molten metal can splash or splatter causing a safety problem. This is particularly true if the level of molten metal in the furnace is relatively high which leads to a relatively high pressure pushing molten metal out of the tap-out hole. There is also a safety problem when the tap-out plug is reinserted into the tap-out hole because molten metal can splatter or splash onto personnel during this process. Further, after the tap-out hole is plugged, it can still leak. The leak may ultimately cause a fire, lead to physical harm of a person and/or the loss of a large amount of molten metal from the furnace that must then be cleaned up, or the leak and subsequent solidifying of the molten metal may lead to loss of the entire furnace.
Another problem with tap-out holes is that the molten metal at the bottom of the furnace can harden if not properly circulated thereby blocking the tap-out hole or the tap-out hole can be blocked by a piece of dross in the molten metal.
A launder may be used to pass molten metal from the furnace and into a ladle and/or into molds, such as molds for making ingots of cast aluminum. Several die cast machines, robots, and/or human workers may draw molten metal from the launder through openings (sometimes called plug taps). The launder may be of any dimension or shape. For example, it may be one to four feet in length, or as long as 100 feet in length. The launder is usually sloped gently, for example, it may be sloped downward or gently upward at a slope of approximately ⅛ inch per each ten feet in length, in order to use gravity to direct the flow of molten metal out of the launder, either towards or away from the furnace, to drain all or part of the molten metal from the launder once the pump supplying molten metal to the launder is shut off. In use, a typical launder includes molten aluminum at a depth of approximately 1-10.″
Whether feeding a ladle, launder or other structure or device utilizing a transfer pump, the pump is turned off and on according to when more molten metal is needed. This can be done manually or automatically. If done automatically, the pump may turn on when the molten metal in the ladle or launder is below a certain amount, which can be measured in any manner, such as by the level of molten metal in the launder or level or weight of molten metal in a ladle. A switch activates the transfer pump, which then pumps molten metal from the pump well, up through the transfer pump riser, and into the ladle or launder. The pump is turned off when the molten metal reaches a given amount in a given structure, such as a ladle or launder. This system suffers from the problems previously described when using transfer pumps. Further, when a transfer pump is utilized it must operate at essentially full speed in order to generate enough pressure to push molten metal upward through the riser and into the ladle or launder. Therefore, there can be lags wherein there is no or too little molten metal exiting the transfer pump riser and/or the ladle or launder could be over filled because of a lag between detection of the desired amount having been reached, the transfer pump being shut off, and the cessation of molten metal exiting the transfer pump.
The prior art systems also require a circulation pump to keep the molten metal in the well at a constant temperature as well as a transfer pump to transfer molten metal into a ladle, launder and/or other structure.
Furthermore, launders into which molten metal exiting a vessel might flow have been angled downwards from the outlet of the vessel so that gravity helps drain the molten metal out of the launder. This was often necessary because launders were typically used in conjunction with tap-out plugs at the bottom of a vessel, and tap-out plugs are dimensionally relatively small, plus they have the pressure of the molten metal in the vessel behind them. Thus, molten metal in a launder could not flow backward into a tap-out plug. The problem with such a launder is that when exposed to the air, molten metal oxidizes and forms dross, which in a launder appears as a semi-solid or solid skin on the surface of the molten metal. When the launder is angled downwards, the dross, or skin, is usually pulled into the molten metal flow and into whatever downstream vessel is being filled. This creates contamination in the finished product.